Most of the impressive games available in the market today, i.e., Skyrim, Assassin’s Creed, God Of War, etc., use C++ as the primary programming language. Generally, together with impressive budgets and a handful of talented developers fall into the list of critical components of success. Actually, it is still possibly the most important language for the game developer. However, the world has changed; Python, Java, and JavaScript for game development are also helpful tools in game development at the present time.
JS is an excellent option if you need to get a simple, intuitive project with available JS developers. With a massive GitHub presence, it is one of the easiest languages to learn. Here’s the roundup of game development with JavaScript, including primary technologies and their pros and cons.
Introducing JavaScript game development
Game development using JavaScript has proven to behold some advantages over other programming languages. As one of the most popular game creation languages, JS naturally works well with CSS as well as HTML and is an excellent match for developing online games.
Besides, devs can implement it both on the front and back end; JavaScript has many frameworks, libraries, and a helpful online community. Since JavaScript is a good decision for desktop, Android, and iOS Apps and hardware, it is a great plus in today’s multi-platform environment. You can also use it for scripting with Unity3D.
Pros and cons of JavaScript game development
JavaScript for game development has some pros and cons depending on the resources, project goals, and context.
Pros:
- Easy to learn and use for people experienced in JavaScript application development
- Runs on a large variety of devices that work with web browsers
- Consequently, easily ported to Windows Universal App (the windows app store for desktop and mobile devices)
Cons:
- Not the fastest performance-wise, but it fits perfectly to make a simple 2D game
- Programming the saving options for users can be a bit complex
- One can easily hack code, considering its vulnerability
Yet, many developers have adopted JavaScript for internet game creation after the end of the Flash Player era. It demonstrates how game developers can use JS and HTML5 to represent visuals simply on the web.
Games running on JavaScript
Here’s the outline of the most popular online games built with JavaScript.
JavaScript Pseudo 3D Racer is developed using HTML5 language and JavaScript and is more suitable for modern web browsers. There are four versions of the game evolution, and you can quickly check its progress step by step through the GitHub repository.
Pacman-canvas is entirely rewritten from scratch in JavaScript and HTML5.
Tower Building has unique colors and designs and uses the latest HTML5 as well as updated ES6. You can download its source code for free on GitHub.
Mk.js Game is an arcade game available in three modes depending on the number of players: one, multiple, or a network. Rethinking the Mortal Kombat and Tekken concept, Mk.js uses HTML, CSS3, and JavaScript for logic.
Ministries JS Game was made based on good old Tetris. React, Redux JS structures, and HTML5 were utilized in order to create it.
Clumsy Bird is a lightweight open-source copy of the famous Floppy Bird built on HTMl5 and MelonJS. It perfectly illustrates how developers can use JS and HTML5 for JavaScript game development.
HexGL Game can boast a great UI and visual depiction. It is an open-source game built on JavaScript and HTML5.
2048 JS Game is a variation of the famous Play Store’s 1024 game. It is a one-player online riddle game developed by Italian web designer Gabriele Cirulli, using JavaScript CSS3 and HTML5. Since it is a game with MIT License, you are free to add anything to it; go ahead.
You may also like the following article: React JS Advantages: Benefits of App Development on React.
Frameworks for Javascript games development
Besides JS, JavaScript developers utilize various libraries and frameworks for game app development depending on their knowledge and experience.
Three.js is one of the most popular JavaScript 3D libraries and a cross-browser API for displaying animated 3D computer graphics objects in a web browser. Its simple set of functions enables you to execute common operations for a 3D scene.
BabylonJS is performant and straightforward, offering more abstraction than ThreeJS and providing even more pre-built tools to manage your 3D visuals.
PhaserJS is a comprehensive set of tools for web and mobile game creation. Despite the severe performance issues of its previous version, Phaser2, and Phaser3 have them all fixed and are one of the most performant web game frameworks available now. Besides, its large community and availability of tutorials make it easy for newbies to make their first steps in game creation.
PixiJS enables efficient 2D object rendering. It is a library explicitly tailored for that purpose and is the fastest WebGL 2D renderer available.
ImpactJS used to be the first performant framework. Now it is open-source and has a good level editor, but not as widely utilized as before, as it’s not the most simple or documented, yet well tested and extendable.
The virtual reality web platform is also built with JS. JavaScript API enables using virtual reality in web applications. This technology, which is familiar nowadays, is used in games. The WebVR API captures information on VR Devices connected to a computer, and it catches headset position, orientation, velocity, and acceleration data. This JavaScript API converts this information into valuable data that online games can leverage in online games.
How to make a JavaScript game
Planning a gaming project requires time and effort to find the right talent to do so during a limited time and budget. If you are looking to hire JavaScript developers for JS Game Development, contact ELITEX. We will help your product to succeed by finding the right people.
Also, read our article about efficient frontend development for trading platform software.
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